


Satisfied, But...

by Anonymous



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23566144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/Angelica Schuyler, John Barker Church/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler
Kudos: 25
Collections: Anonymous





	Satisfied, But...

“This one’s mine.”

As Eliza expected when she grabbed her sister's forearm, Angelica looked slightly perturbed to be pulled out of euphoria. The path of her sister's searching cocoa eyes was palpable: Eliza could feel them trailing across the room to see what had captured her attention. When Eliza managed to snap out of her trance, still glancing at the mysterious orange-suited man across the ballroom, she noticed that Angelica's eyes had fogged over slightly in disturbance. Eliza's heart clenched in panic. Had she fallen in love with the same man as her sister? If she had, she thought, she would readily sacrifice herself so that Angelica could be happy. Eliza was not ignorant: it was common knowledge that the eldest sister of every family was required to marry well by society, even in cases of loveless marriage. Long ago, Eliza had made the decision that she would never wish that kind of unhappiness on anybody.

“...Him?” Angelica pointed subtly to a handsome young man in a Continental Army uniform, talking and laughing with another identically clothed man. An indescribable pulse of relief sounded though Eliza's body; how close she had come to one of their misery!

“No, no,  _ him. _ ” Eliza moved her eyes, and Angelica followed, seeing the other man for the first time. Honestly, how could she not have noticed him? The man across the room looked soft and radiant, a simple yet mysterious energy transmitting from him.

“Oh, I see him now. I was briefly worried that I would have to lay claim on Hamilton.” Eliza could not help but giggle at that.

“How shall I approach him?” Angelica was  _ so _ much better suited to conversing with potential suitors than she, one of her most admirable qualities to Eliza.

“Just… go talk to him! If he does not fall in love with you, then it is his loss.” Eliza pondered what she would say to the man she had become enraptured with. In an uncharacteristic moment of extroversion, she nodded to herself, skirt swishing around her ankles as she paced through the crowd.

Both women were dizzy with euphoria after the Winter's Ball, Eliza weaving elaborate tales of the man she now knew to be John Barker Church, an English Patriot who deals arms with the Continentals. On the opposite side of the carriage, her sister smiled and nodded in support, clearly still caught up in thoughts of Alexander Hamilton. However, Eliza could not have cared less that Angelica had tuned her out. A lifetime of jealousy had been avoided, and that happiness was invaluable.

***

Years later, John smiles lovingly as Eliza recalls the story to him, a letter to Angelica abandoned on his night table.

“Eliza, I am so moved that you would be so caring as to sacrifice yourself like that. Truly, you are the best wife I could have ever asked for.” Eliza's heart swells with love, and she leans over to give her husband a short but lingering kiss.

“I return the sentiment.” John laughs at her teasing tone, and they both sigh, rolling onto their backs.

“John, do you remember the night we eloped?” Eliza asks, the memories clear as day.

“Of course I do.”

“After we were officiated, you took me into the forest. We started kissing, and, well…” familiar heat pools in Eliza's body, “I could not sleep that night.”

“A healthy disrespect for the law tends to result in that, yes.”

“John!” Eliza laughs, rolling over to tuck herself under her husband's arm. Coming down from her high, she looks up. “I am so grateful to have married you. Did you know that?”

“God, Eliza, yes. Even after all these years, I love you as much as the day we met.”

“And I you. So, so much. I could never love anyone as much as I love you.”

“Eliza, think of the children!” John gasps. “How would they feel if they heard their mother say that?”

“Most likely? Happy that they are not the products of a loveless marriage.”

“And my brilliant, beautiful wife wins again.” John yawns.

“Shall we go to sleep, darling?”

“I suppose, unless you had other things in mind to do in this bed.”

“Not now, I am tired as well. Maybe tomorrow.” Eliza scoots upwards, lovingly kissing her husband. “Good night, John.”

“Good night, Eliza.”

With a snuff of the bedside candle, Eliza drifted to sleep, satisfied with the life she built for herself.


End file.
